Department of Defense Dependents Schools now are requiring that 11- to 12-year-olds and unvaccinated youths entering high school receive the meningococcal conjugate vaccine and the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis, or Tdap, vaccine. (Cindy Fisher / S&S)
OKINAWA — U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa will hold two special shot clinics to help parents meet new Department of Defense Dependents Schools vaccination requirements, officials said Thursday.
DODDS now requires that 11- to 12-year-olds and unvaccinated youths entering high school receive the meningococcal conjugate vaccine and the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis, or Tdap, vaccine, said Mike Liem, safety and security officer for DODDS-Okinawa. Parents or guardians have 10 days after school starts to comply with the vaccine requirements if doses are available, he said.
The U.S. Naval Hospital is taking the lead in fulfilling this requirement for the entire DODDS-Okinawa district, regardless of school or branch of service, Liem said.
To that end, the hospital ordered about 3,000 doses of the two vaccines, which hospital staff will administer at two special shot clinics Saturday and Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the hospital, said Lt. Cmdr. Suezane Holtzclaw, head of the occupational medicine department.
The meningococcal conjugate vaccine provides protection against bacterial meningitis, an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord that infects about 2,600 people in the U.S. yearly. Ten percent to 15 percent of those infected die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Tdap vaccination protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, or whooping cough, Holtzclaw said.
More than 25,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in the U.S. in 2004 and the illness’ complications can lead to hospitalization, according to the CDC.
Hospital staff advises parents or guardians to bring their children’s yellow shot cards and Department of Defense Education Activity immunization forms but say they will administer shots without these documents.
However, anyone who has had a severe allergic reaction to these vaccines should not get the shots, according to the CDC.
Once the vaccine has been administered at the clinic, parents will need to keep their children in the vicinity for about 15 minutes for observation, Holtzclaw said, as some can experience mild side effects from the shots.
For Tdap, side effects can include redness or swelling, mild fever, headache, tiredness or nausea but should not interfere with normal activity, according to the CDC. The meningococcal conjugate vaccine’s possible side effects include redness or pain at the shot site or mild fever.
These are the only two vaccinations that will be administered at the special shot clinics, Holtzclaw said. Other immunizations should be taken care of at local clinics during normal working hours, she said.
“The hospital here took an aggressive approach to this need,” Liem said. “They got on the ball and put this district ahead of the power curve for getting the vaccines.”
The Japan and Korea DODDS districts do not yet have the vaccines available for students, he said.
U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa shot clinics
What: Shot clinics for the DODDS-required meningococcal conjugate vaccine and the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis, or Tdap, vaccine.
Who should go: Eleven- to 12-year-olds and unvaccinated youths entering DODDS-Okinawa high schools. The Naval Hospital is administering the vaccine to all students who need it, regardless of sponsor’s branch of service.
Where: U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa
When: Saturday and Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Bring: Yellow shot cards and Department of Defense Education Activity immunization forms (but vaccines will be administered without these forms, according to hospital staff)
— Stars and Stripes
